A wide variety of applicator swabs are known by means of which a substance may be applied to a receiving surface such as the human skin or the like.
One such swab is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,332,859 (Hartford Sweet) wherein is shown a sealed cylindrical container having a weakened portion and a hollow wick fitted within the container. A medicament is used to fill the tube and the wick is employed to facilitate the application of the medicament.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,962,875 (S. M. Reber) there is disclosed a supporting stem having a head arranged at the end thereof with a plurality of absorbent washers being mounted on the stem and a barb being provided on the stem over which the washers pass for holding the washers compressed longitudinally of the stem and against the head.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,490,168 (Oscar Strauss) shows a head arranged on a stem with the head comprising a porous or spongy body such as sponge rubber. The object of this arrangement is to insure the application of medication to remote cavities and passages such as sinuses.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,579,403 there is shown a swab stick provided with a tip of absorbent gauze material at one end thereof. A blister containing a supply of medicament is embedded in the gauze tip such that slight bending or squeezing of the tip will break the blister and allow its contents to ooze out and soak into the surrounding gauze.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,623 (Carl Avery) discloses a swabbing tip for an applicator tube in the form of a cotton-like sheet whose margins are folded inwardly and stuffed into the tube to leave a rounded dome adjacent the end of the tube. The inner face of the sheet is lined with a resilient foam-like layer which enables the size of the dome to be increased while making the dome more quickly saturable.
None of the aforesaid swabs or applicators provide a gentle abrasive action such as is required in many applications while preserving many of the other features desirable in such structures.